Archive for month: December, 2015

As an athlete myself, I know and value the role coaches can support our lives. And now as a coach myself over the last 10 years I have a positive bias towards that.

Here are four reasons I feel each and every one of us should have coaches in our lives.

#1 – For Their Expertise

The most obvious reason to seek out a coach is to find someone who is an expert in his or her field.

Even with the suspect of internet information overload nowadays, no one knows everything. And that’s the worse place to seek information along with youtube videos.

As a coach, I expect myself to be an expert in the world of coaching.

But on the other hand, I’m also a business owner, which leads to an entirely different set of skills I need to develop.

However, I outsource a lot of the business side of things because my skill is in coaching…not business.

The same could be said for your training.

So here’s something to consider: If you found someone who was a better coach than you are right now, and hired them to write your programming, how much could you fast-track your skills as a coach?

It’s definitely something to think about.

#2 – To Increase Accountability

You are instantly more accountable.

I’ve coached athletes for over 15 years now, and I’ve written more programs than I care to remember.

But when I write my own program? It’s like the laws of biomechaincs and physiology change.

Just because I know what a certain exercise or modality is supposed to do, I can rationalize a reason for myself not to do it.

It’s crazy.

It’s a well known fact, but the bulk of your success when it comes to training (and life) is simply showing up and putting in the work.

A coach, then, is essentially a way to “buy” accountability. If you write a program for yourself, or simply take one off the Internet, there’s no accountability built in.

But if you take some of your hard earned cash and actually hire the services of a coach, you’re immediately more likely to stay true to the program and put in the work.

#3 – To Provide Objectivity

Let’s be real here – it’s very easy to lose objectivity when it comes to your own training.

Again, I can use myself as an example: I’ve trained myself so long, and can get so stuck in my own head, that it limits my ability to program effectively for myself.

Here are some questions we should ask whenever we design a program:

What are this athletes goals?
What are their needs, both with regards to movement quality and capacity?
What do they need in the short term? What do they need in the long term?
Chances are if you’ve been training yourself for any extended period of time, your answers to these questions are not nearly as clear as they should be.

Or even worse, you’re stuck in the same rut, doing the same things month after month, year after year.

This is another great time to hire a professional. A quality coach can give you objective feedback on where you’re starting at, and what you need to do to get going in the right direction.

#4 – To Lighten the Load

With all the daily stuff to do inside and outside the gym…lives with family, job, kids activities, whatever … the answer is Easy – get a coach to lighten the load.

When life deals you a chaotic schedule it’s hard to manage time and your training roadmap hiring a coach to take some of that burden and stress off you would be a solid decision.

Summary

I think if you’re serious about achieving goals in your life, you should heavily consider hiring a coach to help you get there.

The age old usage of ice and heat for injury recovery has been a sound start in that process. The less than old usage of tempurature application for recovery from workouts such as ice and heat may not be so sound for recovery.

The thought is (mind you this is pending science based and evidence based truth..) that using long heat sessions and ice bath sessions will help recovery and performance.

WHOA! HOLD YOUR HORSES…

These temp applications used in injury recovery reduces inflammation. Ever stopped to wonder why we have this inflammation process in the first place?

It IS a part of the healing process. Trying to remove inflammation 100% prematurely lowers healing time if recovering from injuries. But here is the thing…what about recovery in the healthy form?

The Answer:

Doing so actually drops performance levels a bit. It will alter your adaptation response to the very training you did to improve performance for whatever it is you are doing.

Think about that for a minute. You worked really hard, busted your butt with your weight training, your tennis skill set work, your hitting or throwing program, anything just to limit some of the performance adaptations.

I know, most can ill afford these days to minimize results… Well we don’t need to help ourselves take a step back ever. There’s enoough out there that can affect those outcomes.

What are some better options with revovery?

We have passive recovery – sleep, non active time, naps – 15-20 mins is good, time to destress and relax and eliminate junk from your mind and bloodstrem maybe…

We have active recovery – play a different game than the one your are participating in most of the time, Light training days (technique work), deload weeks 50% of your loads and active rest – taking a walk, hike (not Mt. Evans) frisbee…

FRISBEE??

We have nutrition – protein is always a good bet. Sometimes it’s over consumed so a good range is .08-1 gram per pound of bodyweight, taking in a surplus of calories for a bit of time cn help you get refreshed, but not the opposite like not eating enough, hydration is big too.

Be careful not to tap in to NSAIDS (tylenol, ibproferin, etc.) as a part of your regimen. It too has a adaptation response that is not on the proising side of your recovery and health and soon if taken too often you will be tapped out completely.

This topic can be touched on much more but these are some primary ways to help recover from workouts meaning exercise not the injured reserve. Different topic different day.

It’s been a week since Thanksgiving in America and many people still feel like they haven’t recovered from all of that food and fun.

If you’re one of those people who over-stuffed themselves, statistics say you will gain 5 pounds between now and Christmas. That’s just the way it is.

And according to the New England Journal of Medicine, you won’t ever lose the extra pounds. Depressing.

Yet, eating good food is an enjoyment in life. It’s a punishment if one is allowed to only look and not eat delicious, tasty food. But you know me: I like to eat more and burn more.

Want to know my 6-step secret to dodge becoming one of those people who never loses the extra pounds:

Relax – It’s a normal phenomenon that human beings store up energy to prepare for the long, cold winter. So don’t be hard on yourself.

Take a walk – No need for strenuous exercise. But a daily walk around the block is always pleasant and goes a long way to shed pounds.

Just Cook more – Cooking from scratch is the only way you can control what goes into your body. Spending time in the kitchen can be enjoyable if you are organized and make it fun. Put some music on, grab a glass of red wine, and bring the kids or your significant other in.

This is Katie. As you can see she has made some changes for herself! This is not uncommon at NP but everyone has their own situation going on for maybe many reasons. But the bottom line for her she had to make a choice. What did Katie want for herself? What was her WHY?

Everyone may have a similar reason and answer or a completely different one. But the bottom line Katie made changes and her results tell you so.